(03-17) 17:41 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A man was convicted Monday of first-degree murder and stalking for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend at a Richmond restaurant where she worked in 2011.

Rafael Zarate, 44, killed Jensy Romero, 30, an employee of Angie's Bakery and Restaurant. Her body was found by the eatery's owner on Sept. 20, 2011, in a restroom of the business at 12889 San Pablo Ave.

Zarate and Romero and recently broken up, but Zarate had been stalking her for at least a month, authorities said.

Zarate took the stand in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez, acknowledging that he had used an 8-inch knife to stab Romero after he chased her into the restroom and "demanded to know if she was seeing another man," said Deputy District Attorney Rachel Piersig.

"I am very pleased with the jury's verdict and am happy that the jury rejected the defense argument that this was a crime of passion," Piersig said. "This was a case which is every woman's worst nightmare. The victim was a young woman who got into a relationship with the wrong man."

When Romero tried to break up with him, "he refused to accept it, terrorized her for three weeks and ultimately killed her when he realized that she would not come back to him," Piersig said.

Two days after Romero was killed, San Leandro received a tip that Zarate was at a duplex on the 12500 block of Central Avenue. He was shot and wounded by a police SWAT team after he brandished what turned out to be a BB gun and was taken into custody.